Kathleen Moore

Published in print:

2010

Published Online:

May 2010

ISBN:

9780195387810

eISBN:

9780199777242

Item type:

book

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

DOI:

10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195387810.001.0001

Subject:

Religion, Islam

Today there are more Muslims living in diaspora than at any time in history. This situation was not envisioned by Islamic law, which makes no provision for permanent as opposed to transient diasporic ...
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Today there are more Muslims living in diaspora than at any time in history. This situation was not envisioned by Islamic law, which makes no provision for permanent as opposed to transient diasporic communities. Western Muslims are therefore faced with the necessity of developing an Islamic law for Muslim communities living in non-Muslim societies. This book explores the development of new forms of Islamic law and legal reasoning in the U.S. and Great Britain, as well as Muslims encountering Anglo-American common law and its unfamiliar commitments to pluralism and participation, and to gender, family, and identity. The underlying context is the aftermath of 9/11 and 7/7, the two attacks that arguably recast the way the West views Muslims and Islam. Islamic jurisprudence, the book notes, contains a number of references to various “abodes” and a number of interpretations of how Muslims should conduct themselves within those worlds. These include the dar al harb (house of war), dar al kufr (house of unbelievers), and dar al salam (house of peace). How Islamic law interprets these determines the debates that take shape in and around Islamic legality in these spaces. The book's analysis emphasizes the multiplicities of law, and the tensions between secularism and religiosity. It offers a close examination of the emergence of a contingent legal consciousness shaped by the exceptional circumstances of being Muslim in the U.S. and Britain in the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century.Less

The Unfamiliar Abode : Islamic Law in the United States and Britain

Kathleen Moore

Published in print: 2010-02-22

Today there are more Muslims living in diaspora than at any time in history. This situation was not envisioned by Islamic law, which makes no provision for permanent as opposed to transient diasporic communities. Western Muslims are therefore faced with the necessity of developing an Islamic law for Muslim communities living in non-Muslim societies. This book explores the development of new forms of Islamic law and legal reasoning in the U.S. and Great Britain, as well as Muslims encountering Anglo-American common law and its unfamiliar commitments to pluralism and participation, and to gender, family, and identity. The underlying context is the aftermath of 9/11 and 7/7, the two attacks that arguably recast the way the West views Muslims and Islam. Islamic jurisprudence, the book notes, contains a number of references to various “abodes” and a number of interpretations of how Muslims should conduct themselves within those worlds. These include the dar al harb (house of war), dar al kufr (house of unbelievers), and dar al salam (house of peace). How Islamic law interprets these determines the debates that take shape in and around Islamic legality in these spaces. The book's analysis emphasizes the multiplicities of law, and the tensions between secularism and religiosity. It offers a close examination of the emergence of a contingent legal consciousness shaped by the exceptional circumstances of being Muslim in the U.S. and Britain in the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century.

The evocation of Kharijism first occurred in connection with the activities and ideas of the Society of Muslim Brothers. On two separate occasions, in 1948 and 1954, the Muslim Brothers were accused ...
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The evocation of Kharijism first occurred in connection with the activities and ideas of the Society of Muslim Brothers. On two separate occasions, in 1948 and 1954, the Muslim Brothers were accused of being Kharijite. These isolated episodes adumbrate the trend toward accusations of Kharijism that came to inform a range of political and religious rival groups in Egypt — government, official al-Azhar, conservative, Islamist, and secular. This chapter examines the first wave of accusations of Kharijism as they were applied in general to the Society of Muslim Brothers, and in particular to the writing and figure of Sayyid Qutb, a one-time literary critic who became the voice of Islamist militancy.Less

The Muslim Brothers and the Neo‐Kharijite Challenge

Jeffrey T. Kenney

Published in print: 2006-11-01

The evocation of Kharijism first occurred in connection with the activities and ideas of the Society of Muslim Brothers. On two separate occasions, in 1948 and 1954, the Muslim Brothers were accused of being Kharijite. These isolated episodes adumbrate the trend toward accusations of Kharijism that came to inform a range of political and religious rival groups in Egypt — government, official al-Azhar, conservative, Islamist, and secular. This chapter examines the first wave of accusations of Kharijism as they were applied in general to the Society of Muslim Brothers, and in particular to the writing and figure of Sayyid Qutb, a one-time literary critic who became the voice of Islamist militancy.

Secularism and its discontents in Muslims societies is the focus of this chapter. The main claim is that the cultivation of an indigenous Muslim understanding of secularism will enhance the prospects ...
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Secularism and its discontents in Muslims societies is the focus of this chapter. The main claim is that the cultivation of an indigenous Muslim understanding of secularism will enhance the prospects for liberal democracy in Muslim societies. The chapter commences with a brief history of secularism in the Muslim world over the past two centuries. It is argued that Muslims have good reasons to be skeptical of secularism because it has bequeathed a negative legacy in large part due to its association with failed modernization paradigms. Failures of the colonial and post‐colonial state are highlighted and related to secularism. A brief discussion of recent events in Turkey and Indonesia and parallel developments in Catholicism in the late 20th century are highlighted as a way towards reconciling Islam and political secularism.Less

Secularism and Its Discontents in Muslim Societies : Indigenizing the Separation between Religion and State

Nader Hashemi

Published in print: 2009-04-02

Secularism and its discontents in Muslims societies is the focus of this chapter. The main claim is that the cultivation of an indigenous Muslim understanding of secularism will enhance the prospects for liberal democracy in Muslim societies. The chapter commences with a brief history of secularism in the Muslim world over the past two centuries. It is argued that Muslims have good reasons to be skeptical of secularism because it has bequeathed a negative legacy in large part due to its association with failed modernization paradigms. Failures of the colonial and post‐colonial state are highlighted and related to secularism. A brief discussion of recent events in Turkey and Indonesia and parallel developments in Catholicism in the late 20th century are highlighted as a way towards reconciling Islam and political secularism.

Wadud analyzes citizenship in theocratic states governed by Shari’ah, or Islamic law, states which do not traditionally envisage the equality of women. Against such theocratic systems, Wadud argues ...
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Wadud analyzes citizenship in theocratic states governed by Shari’ah, or Islamic law, states which do not traditionally envisage the equality of women. Against such theocratic systems, Wadud argues that the canonical Islamic tradition of jurisprudence is open to reinterpretation in light of changing conditions in Muslim societies. According to Wadud, the Qur’an does not restrict agency on the grounds of gender. The gender disparity that has developed in Islamic tradition and theory denies women the means of completing their duties before Allah. Wadud calls upon all Muslims, female and male, to reform their societies so as to implement the equality inherent in the “tawhidic” Islamic paradigm, which stresses unity and harmony.Less

Citizenship and Faith

Amina Wadud

Published in print: 2005-11-03

Wadud analyzes citizenship in theocratic states governed by Shari’ah, or Islamic law, states which do not traditionally envisage the equality of women. Against such theocratic systems, Wadud argues that the canonical Islamic tradition of jurisprudence is open to reinterpretation in light of changing conditions in Muslim societies. According to Wadud, the Qur’an does not restrict agency on the grounds of gender. The gender disparity that has developed in Islamic tradition and theory denies women the means of completing their duties before Allah. Wadud calls upon all Muslims, female and male, to reform their societies so as to implement the equality inherent in the “tawhidic” Islamic paradigm, which stresses unity and harmony.

The Catholic Focolare Movement was founded by the late Chiara Lubich in Italy during World War II in order to rediscover the communal love and spirituality of the early Christians. The movement ...
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The Catholic Focolare Movement was founded by the late Chiara Lubich in Italy during World War II in order to rediscover the communal love and spirituality of the early Christians. The movement includes several “minicities” around the world, each called a permanent Mariapolis (after Mary, Mother of Unity). The Focolare engage in “dialogues of love” with spiritually minded members of other faiths, including Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and Sikhs. This chapter focuses on the relationship between the Focolare movement and the American Society of Muslims, the largest African American Muslim group in the United States, followers of mainstream Islam under the leadership of the late Imam Warith Deen Mohammed. The chapter features testimonies by Focolare members and Muslims about their dialogues of love. “For us it is encountering Jesus in every person,” says the codirector of the Chicago Focolare community. “We love everybody who comes our way.”Less

Unity in Spirituality : The Focolare Movement

Paul D. Numrich

Published in print: 2009-10-01

The Catholic Focolare Movement was founded by the late Chiara Lubich in Italy during World War II in order to rediscover the communal love and spirituality of the early Christians. The movement includes several “minicities” around the world, each called a permanent Mariapolis (after Mary, Mother of Unity). The Focolare engage in “dialogues of love” with spiritually minded members of other faiths, including Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and Sikhs. This chapter focuses on the relationship between the Focolare movement and the American Society of Muslims, the largest African American Muslim group in the United States, followers of mainstream Islam under the leadership of the late Imam Warith Deen Mohammed. The chapter features testimonies by Focolare members and Muslims about their dialogues of love. “For us it is encountering Jesus in every person,” says the codirector of the Chicago Focolare community. “We love everybody who comes our way.”

This collection of nine case studies provides an understanding of genealogy in Muslim societies and highlights how ideas about kinship and descent have shaped communal and national identities in such ...
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This collection of nine case studies provides an understanding of genealogy in Muslim societies and highlights how ideas about kinship and descent have shaped communal and national identities in such societies. The volume provides a window onto Muslim societies, particularly with regard to the generation, preservation and manipulation of genealogical knowledge. The case studies draw on primary sources from across the Middle East, the Maghreb, and Sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from works of classical Arabic heritage to oral testimonies gained from fieldwork. They stress the malleability of kinship and memory, along with the interests that this malleability serves. They also address questions about how genealogical knowledge has been generated, how it has empowered political and religious elites, and how it has shaped our understanding of the past. Finally, the book examines the authenticity, legitimacy, and institutionalisation of genealogical knowledge, Muslim hierarchy, and the basis of sectarian, tribal, ethnic and other identities.Less

Genealogy and Knowledge in Muslim Societies : Understanding the Past

Published in print: 2014-05-30

This collection of nine case studies provides an understanding of genealogy in Muslim societies and highlights how ideas about kinship and descent have shaped communal and national identities in such societies. The volume provides a window onto Muslim societies, particularly with regard to the generation, preservation and manipulation of genealogical knowledge. The case studies draw on primary sources from across the Middle East, the Maghreb, and Sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from works of classical Arabic heritage to oral testimonies gained from fieldwork. They stress the malleability of kinship and memory, along with the interests that this malleability serves. They also address questions about how genealogical knowledge has been generated, how it has empowered political and religious elites, and how it has shaped our understanding of the past. Finally, the book examines the authenticity, legitimacy, and institutionalisation of genealogical knowledge, Muslim hierarchy, and the basis of sectarian, tribal, ethnic and other identities.

Traversing one end of urban Bengal to another, this chapter looks at how Dacca (the present capital of Bangladesh), the putative city of mosques, but also a city of Hindu bhadralok (the educated and ...
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Traversing one end of urban Bengal to another, this chapter looks at how Dacca (the present capital of Bangladesh), the putative city of mosques, but also a city of Hindu bhadralok (the educated and refined classes), and many others besides Muslim elites, hosted Muslim modernist movements just like the ones held in Calcutta. The focus of the chapter is the Dacca University–based Muslim Sahitya Samaj (Muslim Literary Society), formed in 1926, and organized around modernizing forces, such as reform in religion, education, gender relations, and relationships with the colonial state. In this chapter, the differences between Dacca and Calcutta’s literary cultures are analysed along with the effects of the creation of a new university in Dacca, built on the socio-cultural landscape of the city.Less

. Literary Publics in Dacca

Neilesh Bose

Published in print: 2014-02-01

Traversing one end of urban Bengal to another, this chapter looks at how Dacca (the present capital of Bangladesh), the putative city of mosques, but also a city of Hindu bhadralok (the educated and refined classes), and many others besides Muslim elites, hosted Muslim modernist movements just like the ones held in Calcutta. The focus of the chapter is the Dacca University–based Muslim Sahitya Samaj (Muslim Literary Society), formed in 1926, and organized around modernizing forces, such as reform in religion, education, gender relations, and relationships with the colonial state. In this chapter, the differences between Dacca and Calcutta’s literary cultures are analysed along with the effects of the creation of a new university in Dacca, built on the socio-cultural landscape of the city.

This chapter discusses the background of modern Bengali Muslim literary cultures through a review of Muslim writing in Bengali from the early fourteenth century through the early twentieth century. ...
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This chapter discusses the background of modern Bengali Muslim literary cultures through a review of Muslim writing in Bengali from the early fourteenth century through the early twentieth century. The chapter discusses the role of British colonialism in the creation of modern vernacular languages, and in particular, how that process affected Bengali Muslim writers of the nineteenth century. The nineteenth-century creation of a modern vernacular dominated by Hindu writers alongside the simultaneous growth of a genre known as ‘Mussalmani Bangla’ (Muslim Bengali) both form the background of developments in the early twentieth century. The key development discussed in this chapter is the rise of a specifically Bengali Muslim and Calcutta-based intelligentsia through literary societies, including the Bengali Muslim Literary Society, which began in 1911. This pivotal salon-type space functioned as the first organization in Calcutta that catered to both the changing elements of colonial society as well as the needs of the Bengali Muslim community.Less

. Modern Bengali Muslim Literary Culture

Neilesh Bose

Published in print: 2014-02-01

This chapter discusses the background of modern Bengali Muslim literary cultures through a review of Muslim writing in Bengali from the early fourteenth century through the early twentieth century. The chapter discusses the role of British colonialism in the creation of modern vernacular languages, and in particular, how that process affected Bengali Muslim writers of the nineteenth century. The nineteenth-century creation of a modern vernacular dominated by Hindu writers alongside the simultaneous growth of a genre known as ‘Mussalmani Bangla’ (Muslim Bengali) both form the background of developments in the early twentieth century. The key development discussed in this chapter is the rise of a specifically Bengali Muslim and Calcutta-based intelligentsia through literary societies, including the Bengali Muslim Literary Society, which began in 1911. This pivotal salon-type space functioned as the first organization in Calcutta that catered to both the changing elements of colonial society as well as the needs of the Bengali Muslim community.

This chapter traces the ongoing debates about Sufism in relation to changing notions of orthodoxy, focusing on the new Salafi movement of Muhammad ʻAbduh and Muhammad Rashid Rida. As a part of their ...
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This chapter traces the ongoing debates about Sufism in relation to changing notions of orthodoxy, focusing on the new Salafi movement of Muhammad ʻAbduh and Muhammad Rashid Rida. As a part of their platform to reorder Muslim society, this movement called upon Muslims to break with the older patronage networks organized around the tariqa and the sayyid. Their goals could be harmonized for a time: both wanted to restrict Sufism to the elite once more and promoted extending a proper understanding of Shariʻa to a widening circle of readers. There were tensions inherent in this “harmony,” however, and they led inevitably to the collapse of the sayyid-led reforms and to the genesis of an increasingly bifurcated public sphere in the Netherlands Indies. Going forward, the various strands of the “modernist” Muslim movement will seek to take the lead under the aegis of the Office for Native Affairs.Less

From Sufism to Salafism, 1905–11

Michael Laffan

Published in print: 2011-08-28

This chapter traces the ongoing debates about Sufism in relation to changing notions of orthodoxy, focusing on the new Salafi movement of Muhammad ʻAbduh and Muhammad Rashid Rida. As a part of their platform to reorder Muslim society, this movement called upon Muslims to break with the older patronage networks organized around the tariqa and the sayyid. Their goals could be harmonized for a time: both wanted to restrict Sufism to the elite once more and promoted extending a proper understanding of Shariʻa to a widening circle of readers. There were tensions inherent in this “harmony,” however, and they led inevitably to the collapse of the sayyid-led reforms and to the genesis of an increasingly bifurcated public sphere in the Netherlands Indies. Going forward, the various strands of the “modernist” Muslim movement will seek to take the lead under the aegis of the Office for Native Affairs.

History, World Medieval History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine

This chapter provides a historical perspective on magical beliefs and practices in Muslim society as sanctioned by the Qur'an and hadith. Magic is almost always assumed to be bad — essentially evil, ...
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This chapter provides a historical perspective on magical beliefs and practices in Muslim society as sanctioned by the Qur'an and hadith. Magic is almost always assumed to be bad — essentially evil, popular, and irrational — although it was a pervasive aspect of medieval society and was closely allied with religion, which was also viewed as popular and irrational. Magic was usually a more forceful method of supplication or a supercharged prayer, for magic was a means of forcing supernatural powers to fulfil a supplicant's desire, especially for healing. The use of such therapeutic magic by Muslims was sanctioned by hadith.Less

The Theory of Magic in Healing

Michael W. DolsDiana E. Immisch

Published in print: 1992-10-01

This chapter provides a historical perspective on magical beliefs and practices in Muslim society as sanctioned by the Qur'an and hadith. Magic is almost always assumed to be bad — essentially evil, popular, and irrational — although it was a pervasive aspect of medieval society and was closely allied with religion, which was also viewed as popular and irrational. Magic was usually a more forceful method of supplication or a supercharged prayer, for magic was a means of forcing supernatural powers to fulfil a supplicant's desire, especially for healing. The use of such therapeutic magic by Muslims was sanctioned by hadith.